Self-binding harvester



No. 624,564. Patented May 9, I899.

- J. F. STEWARD.

SELF BINDING HARVESTER.

(Application filed Feb. 2, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sham I.

(No Model.)

No. 624,564. Patented May 9, I899.

J. F. STEWARD.

SELF BINDING HABVESTER.

(Application filed Feb.2, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets$heet 2.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. STEWARD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SELF-BINDING HARVE STER.

SPEG IFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,564, dated May 9, 1899.

Application filed February 2,1899. $811M 704,26 0. (No model.) Y

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN FLETCHER STEW ARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Binding Harvesters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Will enable others skilled in the ,art to which itappertains to make and use the'same.

The invention relates to the manner of conducting the grain through a self-binding harvester from the time it leaves the platform to its discharge in bound bundles from the binder, and it has particular reference to the manner of getting the heads,portion over and past the highest point of the elevator onto the inclined deck leading down to the binder and to the separation of the corresponding end of the bundle from the heads of the mass of unbound grain that is about to enter the binder; and the invention consists, first, in an improved arrangement for driving the upper roller of the lower elevator-canvas, whereby the heads of the grain are not retarded at the apex of the elevator by an obstruction materially higher than the canvas; second, to the provision at this point of a lifting and accelerating finger which helps the heads end of the grain over the highest point and starts it fairly on its way to the binder, and, third, to an auxiliary discharge-arm reaching rearward and curving laterally from the overhung binder-shaft and sweeping around, so as to act on that portion of the bundle correspond-v ing with the portion of the grain which has been advanced by the accelerating-finger and separate the bundle from the descending mass on the deck, this arm acting also to throw the bundle evenly out of the binder and prevent the heads end from clinging to the gavel and sluing it around in the binder.

The improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a rear end elevation of a wellknown type of machine, this view being intended more especially to show the sprocketand-gear mechanism at the upper end of the elevator. Fig. 2 is a perspective detail looking into the head of the elevator from a point rearward and stubbleward from the main level of the canvas.

wheel and showing also the binder. comprises two detail views of the auxiliary discharge-arm for the purpose of showing its particular construction and the means of securing it in place.

Referring to the views, a, b, c, and (1 denote various different members of the structural framing of the machine, which will be readily identified by those conversant with these machines, and which consequently require no description or explanation further than to say that they are of the usual construction and that the invention is not particularly concerned with them.

The letter 6 denotes the seat-bar, which is supported at its front end and extends beyond the rear end of the elevator, whence it curves downwardly and is bolted to one of the frame-pieces. The upper elevator-canvas is denoted by f. It is sustained at its rear end by the seat bar'e in the usual manner Fig. 3

and is narrower thanthe one below it, leaving an open space for the heads of long grain to project through, as is also quite common in these machines. The lower canvas is denoted by g. It and the upper one f occupy the usual relation to the platform-carrier and the inclined deck h leading down to the binder.

The moving parts of machines of this type are generally driven by a single chain 2',throw11 around sprocket-wheels on the rear end of the platform, and elevator-rollers and the binder drive-shaftj, which here, as in most instances, is also the packer-shaft. Considerable difficulty has been encountered with this arrangement in getting the grain over the highest point of the elevator and giving it a fair start on its way down to the binder, and experience has shown that the difficulty is due mainly to the fact that when the chain runs over a sprocket-wheel on the end of the upper roller Z it was impossible to speed the roller properly without having the sprocketwheel and the chain itself project above the This required that the heads of the grain should be lifted somewhat above thesurface on which the body ofthe stalks lay, the result being that the heads often caught and lagged, causing an improper delivery of the grain'onto the incline leading to the binder. The first feature of my invention aims to overcome this difficulty, and

tically in the samehorizont-al plane as the roller Z. The sprocket-wheel 0 for the chain 1' is placed on the projecting end of this roller n, and I drive the roller I from this roller by a spur-gear connection with a pinion p just inside of the sprocket-wheel 0. In order to give the rollerlthe proper direction and speed of rotation, an idle spur-gear q is journaled below and intermeshes with a spur-pinion 1' on the shaft of the roller Z. This arrangement is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and it will be understood that by putting the chaindriven sprocket 0 on the shaft of the roller n I am enabled to get it much lower, so that there is practically no obstruction at. the rear of the elevator to lift the heads of the grain from the elevating-canvas. As shown in the drawings, the ledge m is a wooden board. It may, however, be a metal strip, and of whatever material it-may be constructed it has a metallic extension m, that continues upward and curves over the sprocket-gear o and the gears 22 r, and q, so as to cover them and afford a smooth ledge for the heads of the grain to slide over without interference with the chain or gearing. The inclined deck h has its upper edge fitting rather closely up to the roller n and the metallic extension m, which serves as aguard or shield for the roller, and chain-gearing overlapsthe deck at its rear edge, as best shown in Fig. 2.

In order to assist in getting the heads end of the grain over the apex of the elevator and help along their movement at this point, I provide a lifting and accelerating finger-s, which is hung on a pivot-pin on the sprocketwheel 0 and which plays up and down in a vertical plane close alongside said wheel, the rotation of the wheel giving the point of the finger an orbital movement, so as to enter the grain at a point close to the roller [and travel with the grain until it passes the highest point and starts it down the incline, when it is Withdrawn, sinks below the level of the canvas, and returns to its starting-point. The move ments of the finger are regulated and controlled by the link u, pivoted at a fixed point on the elevator, and which is also loosely connected to the lower end of the finger. As shown in Fig. 2, the shield m" is provided with a slot 1), up through which the finger projects; but unless the shield is of considerable width, which, of course, it need not be, this finger might be arranged to play along its inner or outer edge.

' Referring now to-Figs. 2 and 3, numeral 1 denotes the auxiliary discharge-arm above referred to. It is preferably shaped as shown in Fig. 3 and has a hollow hub-like socket 2 at its butt-end and an arm 3 ofisetting from the socket, by means of which it is secured in place and in proper relation to the usual ejectors, of which 4: denotes the rear one.

The extreme end of the overhead shaft 5 of the binder is threaded, as shown at 6, for the reception of a nut 7, by means of which the ejector 4 and the parts of the knotter mechanism are clamped on the shaft in a wellknown way. I take advantage of this arrangement to lock the auxiliary discharger to place and provide the outer face of the nut with radial teeth or serrations 8, and I also provide a tooth or detent 9 on the flange 10 of the socket of the arm 1, so that when the socket (which has a smooth bore) is slipped over the end 5 of the binder-shaft it may be interlocked with the nut and held securely upon the shaft. In order to hold the interlocking faces of the nut and the socket to gether and provide additional meansof securing the arm 1 on the binder-shaft, I form bolt-holes 11 and 12 in the offset arm 3 of the socket and the shank of the ejector 4, respectively, and by passing a bolt through these holes the two arms 1 and 4 are firmly secured together, and the teeth of the nut and the socket 2 are held securely interlocked.

This arrangement also offers a ready means for securing an angular adjustment of the auxiliary arm relatively to the ejector 4,which may be accomplished either by boring another hole in the shank of the arm 4 or by elongating the hole 11 of the arm 3 into a slot.

Such being the construction and arrangement of the parts composing the present improvements no particular description of their operation seems necessary .to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the same. It maybe noted, however, that when the grain reaches the apex of the elevator instead of havingthe heads portion lifted above the level of the belt, and thereby permitting the slats of the canvas to lose their grip on this part of the grain, the lowering of the gears and the arrangement of the shield m 071' so as to form, practically, a level extension of the under canvas permit the canvas to keep its hold on all parts of the grain and greatly facilitate its elevation over the highest point. In addition to this the provision of the accelerating-finger, acting in a manner already described, is a further safeguard against the lagging of the grain at this point. The speed of the working end of this finger is somewhat greater than that of the lower canvas or the roller n, and it acts to give the heads of the grain quite a little impulse as they pass the crest of the elevator and to start it down the inclined deck more nearly on a line with the butts, and. it is to be noted with respect to the auxiliary discharge-arm that it cooperates with this accelerating-finger in getting the bound bundle out of the machine without tipping it and without its hanging to the gavel that is in the binder and sluing it around; also, that the adjustability of the binder permits this auxiliary arm to be set in any desired fore-and-aft relation to the finger to accommodate the particular manner in which the elevator and finger may be delivering the grain onto the deck. It willof course be understood that the roller it runs close to the upper edge of the deck and fills the gap between it and the upper end of the apron g, from which it takes the grain.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim, and desire to secure, is-

1. The combination with the upper roller of the lower elevator-canvas, of a gear on the shaft of said roller, an idler-gear meshing therewith, a driving-gear meshing with the idler-gear, and a chain-driven sprocket-Wheel rigid with the driving-gear.

2. The combination with the upper roller of the lower elevatorcanvas, of an auxiliary roller located stubbleward from and in substantially the horizontal plane of the elevatorroller, a gear on the shaft of the elevatorroller, a gear on the shaft of the auxiliary roller, a chain-driven sprocket-Wheel on the auxiliary-roller shaft outside of its gear, and

an idler-gear meshing with both said rollergears.

3. The combination with the upper roller of the lower elevator-canvas, of a gear on the shaft of said roller, an idler-gear meshing therewith, a driving-gear meshing with the idler-gear, a chain-driven sprocket-Wheel rigid with the driving-gear, and a shield covering said gear and sprocket-wheels.

4. The combination with the upper roller of the lower elevator-canvas, an auxiliary roller located stubbleward from and in substantially the horizontal plane of the elevator-roller, and a heads lifting and accelerating finger atthe rear ends of the rollers.

5. The combination with the upper roller of the lower elevator-canvas, of a gear on the shaft of said roller, an idler-gear meshing therewith, an auxiliary roller located stubbleward from and in substantially the horizontal plane of said elevatorroller, a gear on the shaft of the auxiliary roller meshing with the idler-gear, a sprocket-wheel rigid with the auxiliary-roller gear, a lifting and acceleratingfinger pivotally connected to the sprocketwheel, and a link having a fixed pivot at one end, and connected at the other to thelower end of the finger.

6. The combination of the lower elevatorcanvas, the extension-board at the rear edge thereof, the upper roller of said canvas, a gear on the rear end of said roller-shaft, an auxiliary rollerlocated st ubbleward from and in substantially the horizontal plane of the elevator-roller, a gear on the rear end of said rollershaft, an idler-gear meshing with both the roller-gears, a chain-driven sprocket wheel rigid with the gear of the auxiliary roller, the inclined deck leading to the binder, a shield fastened at one end to the aforesaid extension board and extending over and above the gear and sprocket-Wheels to the inclined vdeck, and a finger pivoted below the shield and driven by the sprocket-Wheel said finger reaching above the shield and operatend of the overhead binder-shaft, and acting more particularly on that part of the grain which is advanced by the accelerating-finger.

8. The combination with the overhead binder-shaft having the usual ejectors for the body portion of the bundle, of an auxiliary discharge arm projecting rearwardlyand curving laterally from the end of said bindershaft.

9. The combination with the overhead binder-shaft having the ejector 4, of an auxiliary discharge-arm fitting on the end of the shaft and detachabl y secured to the ejector.

10. The combination of the overhead bindershaft having a screw-threaded end, the ejector at locked to and upon said shaft by the nut '7 having the serrated face 8, and an auxiliary discharge-arm fitting on the projecting end of the shaft and having a detent to engage the serrations of thenut and adapted to be bolted to the ejector.

11. The combination of the overhead bindershaft having the screw-threaded end 5, the ejector 4 locked to and upon said shaft by the nut '7 screwing upon the shaft, a curved auxiliary discharge-arm 1 having a tubular hub-like socket 2 fitting over the end of the shaft, a radial arm 3 projecting from the socket and adapted to be bolted to the ejector 4, serrations 8 on the outer face of the nut, and a detent 9 on the socket of the dischargearm adapted to interlock with the serration of the nut.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. STEWARD.

lVitnesses:

MARVIN ORAMER, F. A. FULTON.

ICC 

